If I live in Chicago, why on earth did I travel all the way to the East Coast to go to Firefly Music Festival? I could have easily chosen a closer festival with a similar lineup, but Firefly had been on my list, and this was the year I was going to make it happen. I took a plane, a bus, and as much as I could carry on my back to Dover, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
My Biggest Festival of the Summer
Firefly was definitely my most-anticipated festival of the summer—brand-new, that I was going to be experiencing for the first time. I was also camping with my boyfriend Mark’s friends, some of whom I had never met, let alone gone to a festival with before. All the excitement whirled together, and I couldn’t wait to be transported to that magical alternate universe of life inside a music festival.
Setting up camp was a breeze, and we quickly got down to pregaming before heading across the bridge over the highway that separated the campgrounds from the festival. It’s a bit of a walk, but it’s no match for the surge of energy powered by the butterflies in my stomach.
The first night I was just along for the ride, not dying to see anyone (especially after Jax Jones was removed from the lineup). I was pleasantly surprised by the layout of the festival. The stages were spread out far enough from one another so there was never overlapping sound. I was shook by the almost infinite amount of space at each stage. Even during some of the biggest names of the weekend (like Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Eminem, and Odesza), there was still a crazy amount of space in the back.
My Favorites at Firefly Music Festival
The weekend flew by song after song, laugh after laugh. Saturday had to be my favorite. We kicked off the day in the campgrounds with my friends from Ireland who I had met in Croatia four years ago. We played some drinking games while they told us about how they had caught their tent on fire while smoking a blunt and had to put the flames out with 2-liter bottles of Coke. One of them told us he watched the whole thing go down while giving himself a pedicure in the front seat of their car.
Welshly Arms
This day was filled with so much great music. Mark and I saw an intimate, acoustic set by Welshly Arms at the forested Tree House stage. I resonated so hard with their heartfelt lyrics and moving vocals. I looked up at Mark during their song “Sanctuary,” and we were both crying.
Flint Eastwood
We didn’t think anything was going to top that until we heard the sound of Flint Eastwood singing “Glitches” coming from the Porch stage. She was someone I had really wanted to see, but with all the time conflicts, I didn’t think it was going to happen. We ran over to catch the last 15 minutes of her set and were blown away. Not many artists have the talent of somehow sounding even better in person, but Flint is one of them. Talk about empowering. I could truly feel every emotion overflowing from her during her performance. I cried again.
Frolicking at Foster the People and Cartwheeling at Cold War Kids
Firefly has some really killer happy hour deals. You can get a 6 pack of tallboy Bud Lites for only $30. We took this to our advantage during Foster the People and had a little too much fun dancing in the crowd. This carried over into Cold War Kids at the Lawn stage. I can’t tell you too much about their set because we were too busy rolling around in the grass, doing airplanes, cartwheels, and playing catch with our socks. It might’ve been the most fun I had all weekend.
Big Gigantic
At the end of the night, we got real funky with our festival fam at Big Gigantic. I’ve seen them twice but this was by far the best time I’ve ever had during their set. The crowd surrounding us was so friendly and silly. They did the glowstick thing where you gather as many glowsticks off the ground as you can and throw them up into the sky on the drop. It was magical.
More Amazing Music at Firefly
Some of my other top performances of the weekend were Portugal. The Man, Phantoms, and Lord Huron. Portugal. The Man: so trippy, awesome visuals, hysterical. Phantoms: silly, fun, dance party. Lord Huron: so majestic and beautiful (what do you know, I cried again). Lots of tears this weekend!
The Perks of Multi-Genre Music Fests
EDM is my fave but I cannot begin to describe how refreshing it was to finally go to another festival that wasn’t strictly EDM. I had way more opportunities to relax whereas EDM-packed festivals make your body constantly want to be dancing and moving. Being able to sit or lie down in the grass and enjoy a beautiful set like Vance Joy‘s felt so good. It was a different change of pace. And sometimes, it is definitely needed.
Too Hot
On the third day, it was really freaking hot and we went inside the festival early to see Alex Lahey (who was incredible) at 2:30. Two and half hours later, we were at Smallpools when I started feeling sick. I sat down and collapsed into Mark’s lap. Even though I had been drinking water all day, my body was overheating.
Luckily I was with Mark and we were able to make it to the shade to rest and cool off. There were so many times I had seen this while working Ground Control for festivals but never had I thought it would happen to me. This was just a reminder that even if you’re taking care of yourself, anything can happen. You always need to listen to your body and to take breaks when you need it.
Odesza
Odesza closed out the festival Sunday night, bringing all the feels. Unfortunately, this was probably the thickest crowd of the weekend so it was really difficult for me to see. I didn’t let it prevent me from dancing though.
Forever Lovin’ Firefly Festival
The festival as a whole deserves an A+. I don’t have one single complaint or suggestion on what could have been better. The organization and layout were perfect. Happy hour deals were sick. My festival fam was incredible. The lineup and performances were amazing. What more can you ask for? Firefly has a wide variety of different music. At the same time, I still think it’s great for someone who might only be into a certain genre. It’s a great first timer festival but also one you could keep coming back to and never be bored. I am confident I could go back and love it just as much as the first time.
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